Women’s basketball tips off the regular season on Saturday afternoon, hosting Newberry College at the Justice Center. This will mark the first time the two schools have faced one another in women’s basketball competition. The retooled Bulldogs squad looked sharp on Friday night in a 92-72 romp over Mars Hill in an exhibition match at the Justice Center. Newberry has not yet taken the court this season.
UNC Asheville put together a strong showing on the offensive end on Friday, shooting over 55 percent from the field and placing five scorers in double figures. Junior forward Lindsey Montgomery and freshman guard Grace Blaylock led the team with 15 points each, followed by guards Kendall Shepard (11), Lindsey Thompson (11), and Chioma Okoli (10). Blaylock started the game at point guard and played a team-high 30 minutes, dishing out 5 assists and collecting 7 rebounds. Forward Kiara Rainey was the Bulldogs’ rebounding leader, with 9 boards.
Although the offensive effort was encouraging, turnovers and team defense were areas of concern for the Bulldogs following the exhibition contest. UNC Asheville committed 28 turnovers, compared to only 19 from Mars Hill. The Bulldogs were able to limit Mars Hill to 34 percent shooting in the game, but gave up 17 offensive rebounds. Those second-chance opportunities enabled the Lions to rack up 72 points.
If the Bulldogs are able to protect the basketball and control the offensive glass, they have a chance to do much better than the eighth-place finish projected for UNC Asheville at the Big South media day. With the loss of last year’s leading scorer and point guard Ana Baker, there have been questions about the Bulldog’s ability to produce consistently on the offensive end. The strong cadre of Bulldog underclassmen, led by Blaylock, look to answer those questions as the regular season begins. Asheville added another underclassman to its roster this week. Redshirt freshman MacKensie Wheaton, a cross country and track runner at UNC Asheville, has joined the team as a guard.
Newberry enters the season as one of the top teams in the South Atlantic Conference. Last season, the nickname-less Newberry squad finished with an 18-11 record and fell in the semifinals of their conference tournament. The team is picked to finish third in the conference this year. Newberry returns two of its top producers from last season. Senior Helen McKinney average 14.9 points (7th best in the conference) and 7.2 rebounds. Junior Anita Bulcher was second in the SAC with 8.7 rebounds per game, and 11th in scoring (13.3).
The game is scheduled to begin at 4:30 on Saturday, immediately following volleyball’s Senior Day regular season finale against Winthrop.
Go Dogs!!!
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